Re: 2016 Federal Election
Internet users shouldn't expect privacy, expert says
Source: Yahoo 7 News
Internet and mobile technology is developing with such pace that it is impossible to guarantee electronic privacy and nobody should expect it, according to an industry expert.
Revelations of the US government's mass surveillance program, PRISM, have alarmed many and led to calls for greater transparency from government intelligence agencies.
Although the Australian Government will not confirm it "for reasons of national security", it is widely believed that Australia's long-standing intelligence relationship with the US means electronic surveillance collected here is shared with the US National Security Agency and the PRISM network.
Documents obtained by the ABC under Freedom of Information laws .
Andy Start, the president of global government business for Inmarsat - the largest mobile satellite service in the world - says the only way to ensure a conversation remains private is to have it face to face.
Mr Start says rapid developments in technology mean any thought of internet privacy is irrelevant.
Already any government agency that wants to know what an individual is doing has the ability to track them.
"It's true to say that you shouldn't be doing anything in cyberspace that you wouldn't do in public. If you're ashamed to do it in front of your grandma you probably don't want to do it on the internet," he said.
Mr Start says "it's a surprise that people would be surprised" that their internet and phone traffic could be intercepted and tracked.
'Greater collaboration among governments'
Inmarsat is one of more than 400 defence and security corporations who have descended on the Sydney convention centre for the 2013 international maritime exposition, a forum for the maritime and naval defence industries to show case their wares, network and win valuable Australian and international contracts.
The company has contracts with intelligence and defence services in many countries, including the US and Australia, and while not commenting on specific operations.
Mr Start says governments are collaborating on electronic surveillance more and more and the old intelligence networks are stronger than ever.
"I think we're seeing greater and greater collaboration among many governments and not just the traditional ones," he said.
"As we see global insecurity increasing and we see greater terrorist activity the need or cooperation between governments is increasing."
And as the pace of the technology explosion intensifies, governments are finding it a challenge to stay on top of the changes.
"Technology is moving at just a phenomenal rate and if you look at any graphs on innovation you'll see we're innovating more now than at any time in human history," he said.
Mr Smart says no-one really knows where the technology is heading precisely, but it is clear there will be more speed and more mobility and mobile applications for everyone.
"If you read any science fiction book of 20 years ago about what was going to be happening in the far future, well all of that is happening already," he said.
